Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina, who has led the center-right government since 2023, announced her resignation on May 7 after the Progressive Party, a left-leaning coalition partner, left the government, leaving her without a sufficient majority to continue governing.
“I am resigning, but I am not giving up,” Silina said in a televised statement on Thursday (May 7).
Her decision came just days after Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds, a member of the Progressive Party, was forced to resign over the government's handling of a series of stray drone incidents involving aircraft believed to have originated from Ukraine and entered Latvian territory. Silina stated that Spruds had lost both her trust and that of the public.
“The drone incidents have clearly shown that political leadership in the defense sector has failed to deliver on its promise of a safe sky for our country,” Silina said on Sunday, explaining why Spruds had resigned.
On May 7, two drones believed to be from Ukraine entered Latvia, one of which crashed into a fuel storage facility. Numerous Ukrainian drones flying toward Russia have collided with Baltic states since March, as well as with several other European countries since the start of the Ukraine war. These incidents have sparked domestic criticism of the Baltic states' capacity to respond to military threats.
Silina's resignation comes just months before the general election scheduled for October. Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics, who is tasked with appointing a new head of government, is expected to meet with representatives of parliamentary parties on Friday (May 8).
“My priority has always been and will always be the welfare and security of the Latvian people,” Silina wrote on social media platform X on Thursday. “Parties and coalitions change, but Latvia remains. And my responsibility to society is paramount.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has offered assistance to Baltic states and Finland to prevent similar incidents in the future. He said on Sunday that the incidents in Latvia were “the result of Russian electronic warfare deliberately diverting Ukrainian drones from their targets in Russia.”
